Applicant claims the foreign priority benefits under 35 U.S.C. 119 of Japanese Application No. 6-228295, which was filed Sep. 22, 1994. This Japanese Application and its translation are incorporated by reference into this Application.
This invention pertains to computer keyboard palm rests and, more particularly, to a palm rest that is pivotally attached to a notebook or other computer, that is stowable within the cover of the computer, and that also functions as a carrying handle.
Computer keyboard palm rests are used to improve the key input operation and, in some instances, to facilitate the carrying of the computer. One such palm rest can be slidably stored in a housing wherein a keyboard is mounted. This type of stowable palm rest is mounted on a slide mechanism that is provided on a side wall that extends from the front to the rear of the housing, and both ends of the palm rest are supported on the slide such that the palm rest can be extracted from and retracted within the housing.
However, it is relatively expensive to manufacture a slidable palm rest because the slide mechanism must be formed of a plastic material that slides easily, because precise manufacturing is required, and because there are a significant number of individual parts in a slidable palm rest mechanism. There are also other disadvantages to a slidable palm rest. For example, the slide mechanism must have a predetermined mechanical strength in order to be used as a handle for carrying the computer, a slide mechanism cannot be provided at the front side of the housing (the key operator side), and the palm rest must be lengthened in the direction of the width of the housing so that it extends beyond the portion where the palms of a key operator are normally positioned (beyond the typing area).